Different from the Other Potters
by Ophie
Summary: Some things occur to Lily Potter.  I wanted to write a fic about what it might be like to start questioning your sexuality in the mostly hetero-centric Wizarding World.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is just a sort of feeler, seeing if I thought the plot line could go anywhere. It's post-prologue of HBP. This fic deals with the possibilities of being gayyy in the Wizarding World.

…

Chapter 1

Lily Potter could pinpoint exactly when it was she had realized something was up. Summer hols started normally enough, with a graduation party for Rose, Louis and Al at the Burrow. The whole family was there, as they had been for Teddy and Victoire and Dominique and James' graduations in previous years, as they would be for Fred and Molly's next year and Hugo, Roxanne, Lucy and Lily's own the year after. The Weasley-Potter family was not a family that celebrated in quiet, nuclear groups. Since the fall of the Dark Lord whenever celebration had been warranted, celebration happened. Often, this included not only blood relatives but also family friends, occasionally even retired minister for Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt, an aspect that always seemed to thrill Lily's friends when she happened to forget it might seem like bragging to mention it.

At the moment she realized something might be up, Lily was sitting in a corner of the back yard at the Burrow, eating a sandwich and trying to mend the tail on her broom which had been unceremoniously bent by her cousin Hugo in a rather vicious game of Quidditch. A series of small popping sound signaled the arrival of more guests just outside the gate and she groaned, internally, at that thought of more noise, more people in the already crowded yard.

She took this opportunity to glance around and assess the crowd already assembled. The three graduates were hanging out together, bearing the shell-shocked expression of those newly spat out of the safety of regularly scheduled classes and prepared meals. Each of them- including Al, which was slightly shocking- had a small glass in hand and a bottle of firewhiskey sat on the table, which meant that Grandma could not possible be outside as well. Sitting with them were James and Fred, the latter sneaking covert sips from a glass he kept concealed under the table lest his mother see him. The rest of Lily's cousins were spread out over the yard- Hugo nursing a sprained finger, Lucy reading (reading, of all things, how could she with this noise?) Molly and Roxanne debating animatedly with Uncle Percy about magical restriction laws (Roxanne had more to say than Molly, but Roxanne usually had more to say than anyone anyway) Victorie, Teddy and their kids Analise and Abivole were sitting with Lily's dad, her Uncle Ron, Uncle George and Aunt Angelina at the food table and Lily's mum and her Aunt Hermione were having what appeared to be a private talk on the backyard swing, Aunt Hermione dabbing her eyes carefully, mum's arm around her shoulders. Louis was nowhere to be seen, but neither was Grandpa and Lily assumed they had probably crept off to his workshop together to fuss over the new car engine Grandpa had acquired, somehow, a week or so ago. Uncle Bill and Uncle Charlie had both excused themselves for different reasons- Uncle Bill to nip over to work "for a quick moment" to help his assistant with something and Uncle Charlie- who had been up late the night before for work- to nap in one of the bedrooms left unoccupied by the Weasley children, who were now adults with their own homes and had no need for single beds and walls decorated with Quidditch Posters.

The pop of apparation had been Lily's cousin, Dominique, accompanied by two witches Lily had never seen before, ostentatiously also members of the Hollyhead Harpies, the team for which Lily's own mother had played and to which Dominique now belonged. There was a high-pitched, exaggerated shriek as Aunt Fleur and Grandma came out of the Burrow levitating a full coffee pot and enough mugs to accommodate everyone. It did not take long to discern the reason for Aunt Fleur's cry: Dom's hair- which had always been a blonde braid spiraling down her back and occasionally whipping unfortunate opponents in the face when it came undone during matches- had been cropped into a chin-length bob with heavy bangs hooding her bright blue eyes. None of Aunt Fleur's children had ever cut their hair- it was Veela tradition for women to let their it grow, perhaps occasionally trimming it if a trim was warranted but never, NEVER cutting it.

"What. Ave. You. Done?" demanded Aunt Fleur, tossing the mugs onto the table with a flick of her wand and storming across the lawn to the gate that one of Dom's friends was now closing.

"Mum" Dom warned, her eyes dangerously narrow and her lips set "We'll talk about this later."

Fleur flew into a flurry of French, parts of which Lily understood and parts that were much too fast for her elementary language skills. Dom replied in a terse, slow enough tone for Lily to translate "We'll talk later" and "Not in front of my friends, please." Before she spotted Lily and headed over, friends in tow.

Dom was easily one of Lily's favorite cousins. Three years older than Lily, she was nonetheless interested in the younger girl's thoughts and ideas and was by far one of the coolest members of Lily's family. Aunt Fleur had very outdated notions of what was and was not proper for young witches and more often than not, Dom fell into the category of "improper." Because of this, she had a tempestuous relationship with her mother who, despite loving her dearly, did not understand her. Luckily, Dom had allies in her father and older sister, both of whom frequently intervened on her behalf when, for example, she had been invited to play for the Harpies or (only a few weeks ago) had declared her intention to move into her own apartment, something Aunt Fleur did not believe single young witches should do. Dom also spent a lot of time at Lily's parent's house, at first mostly to hang out with Lily's mother so they could talk about playing Quidditch, which was quite male-dominated, and so Dom could bemoan her mother's strict rules. Lily had started to sit in on these conversations a year or so ago, to the point where Dom expressly sought out both Ginny and Lily when she visited. The three of them would sit around in the back yard, sometimes with Lily and Dom's brooms across their knees, doing repairs and talking about any number of things, only infrequently interrupted by Lily's dad bringing them tea. So it made sense for Dom to seek Lily out now, as well.

"Hey Lily." She said as she got close enough, kneeling to hug her younger cousin before sitting in the grass beside her. "Wasn't sure if I'd see you tonight or if I'd have to wait for Al's birthday in July."

"Hey Dom!" Lily said, giving her cousin a one-armed hug as her other hand was preoccupied with holding two pieces of straw in place on her broomstick. "I only caught half of what Aunt Fleur said but she doesn't seem particularly happy. I think the hair looks great, though."

"What happened to your broomstick?" Asked one of Dom's unnamed witch friends, a thin person with close-cropped dark hair cut unevenly over her brown eyes.

"My cousin Hugo grabbed it in our family Quidditch game." Lily explained "And I can't get it fixed properly. He bent the hell out of it."

The witch smiled crookedly and held out her hand "Here, let me look at it. I dabble in broomstick design and repair. Plus, during our last game one of the guys from the Cannons killed half my tail and I had to repair it myself, mid-game. I'd pretty good at handling broomsticks, if I do say so myself." Lily could have sworn Cyrus accompanied this with a wink and felt her neck get hot.

"Sorry, Lil, I should have introduced you." Dom said, seeing Lily's hesitation to hand over her broomstick. "This is Cyrus" she pointed to the witch who had just spoken "And Amara." Amara had longer, curly hair and a nice smile. "They play on the Harpies with me and they're my new flat-mates."

Lily handed her broom over to Cyrus and, watching what the witch was doing out of the corner of her eye, asked "Where is your new flat? I'd love to come see it sometime, since I'm out of school for the summer."

Cyrus looked up "You're still in school?" she asked, a frown on her face. "What year are you going into?"

"Sixth." Lily told her. Cyrus coughed and Amara, laughing, patted her on the back. Lily didn't see what was so funny but apparently Dom did, though she appeared to be unsure whether she should laugh or frown at Cyrus.

"We're living in Phoenix Village" Dom continued, finally giving in to a small grin. Phoenix Village was close to Muggle London, a popular spot for young wizards and witches. Many professional Quidditch players lived there, as well as several prominent up-and-coming wizards and witches from the ministry,the music business, and other impressive places. It was known as the spot for the young and hip, housing very few families or people over the age of thirty but plenty of restaurants, pubs, and cafes. Lily had never been, but she had heard about it. She was quite shocked that Aunt Fleur had allowed Dom to move there.

"Dad intervened." Dom said, seeing Lily's question. "It's one of those old-fashioned, women only lodgings left over from Great Aunt Muriel's era. Most of the Harpies live there, along with a few others from different sectors in the ministry.

"Gives the Harpies a good public image." Amara said, then laughed "Which, quite frankly, we need at the moment."

Lily looked questioningly at Dom again. "It's nothing really." her cousin said, shrugging "Only a small romantic scandal resulted in a fight at one of our games. And a player being replaced. But she wasn't great anyway."

Cyrus snorted, concentrating on Lily's broomstick with deliberate attention.

"Well, whatever." Dom sighed, and leaned heavily on her cousin "The point is, mum ran out of reasons I couldn't go and dad negotiated a deal. It's better with me out of Shell Cottage anyway, and I think she realizes that even if she's too proud to admit it."

Both of them glanced at Fleur, who had joined the group of adults (plus two youngsters) at the table and was being talked into calm by her eldest daughter.

"Victoire's so good with her." Dom sighed, sounding as though she rather regretted not being able to talk to her mother in the same way "But Victoire also chose babies and a husband over a career, and I'm not interested in that right now. I mean, mum's one to talk. She worked for a few years before she married dad, but after the war she gave it up to raise us three. And she forgets, sometimes, that there are other options."

"Mum says that Aunt Fleur means well, but she was brought up in a stricter household." Lily said "She says she and Aunt Fleur used to get into rows all the time about how mum raised me, because Aunt Fleur was always offering advice mum didn't want."

"Aunt Ginny is so cool, though." Dom said, and turned to her friends "Lily's mum's maiden name is Weasley. As in, Wingtips Weasley? The all-star chaser for the Harpies years ago?"

Cyrus whistled and Amara gasped "Really? Like, really really? Is she here? Can I meet her? I'm a chaser too and I studied her technique for months and months before my try-out for the team."

Lily scanned the crowd to see if her mum was still talking to Aunt Hermione. Spotting Ginny at the table, filling her wine glass, she waved her over. Unlike most teenager girls, Lily did not feel the need to separate her friends and her mum. In Lily's opinion, Ginny was easily one of the coolest mothers who had ever lived.

Catching Lily's eye, Ginny squeezed her husband's shoulder and headed over, sweeping her still-long hair back into a bun as she did and straightening out her shirt. Ginny was never fully-composed, and though she was in her fifties now still managed to look like she had just come from Quidditch practice half the time.

"Hello Dom." she said when she reached them, leaning over to touch her niece's shortened hair. "I'm loving the style, and, even if I'm not supposed to say so, the look on your mother's face when she saw it was incredible. Only don't mention that to anyone else."

Dom seemed to perk up at Ginny's compliments. "Aunt Ginny, these are my teammates Cyrus- she's a beater- and Amara, who's a chaser like you. In fact, she's sort of-"

"A fan! A huge fan!" Amara had lost any pretense of cool. "You're an amazing flier, seriously seriously amazing. We still learn the Weasley Loop at practice. I mean, I grew up with your posters on my wall!"

Ginny laughed, though Lily could tell she felt slightly uncomfortable at the enthusiasm. "Wow, well, I know you're certainly an up-and-coming player yourself. Don't think we haven't been following the Harpies closely at the Quidditch desk of the Daily Prophet. I think we're going to be profiling your team soon- I want to do a weekly piece about women in Quidditch, seeing as our numbers have dropped even further these days."

Amara's eyes were saucers and she appeared to be about to say something when Cyrus held up Lily's broom. "Finished. Damn the end was bent, though. You'll want to smack your cousin good for that one." She smiled crookedly again and Lily felt her stomach twinge in a not-entirely-unpleasant way.

"Aunt Ginny, could we possibly get you to climb on some brooms with us in the back field? Just for a bit? Cyrus brought this prototype she designed and we're going to try it out." Dom glanced at Cyrus, who tore her eyes away from Lily and nodded enthusiastically.

Ginny looked hesitant, but gave in quickly under the pleading eyes of her niece. "Alright, alright. Let me go tell Harry and I'll meet you girls back there." She said, heading off to talk to her husband.

"Want to come, Lil?" Dom asked, getting to her feet. "We'll probably fly for a bit and then head off to our flat. I don't think mum and I need to get into another argument today."

Lily shook her head. "I'd love to, but I promised Hugo I'd go to the Muggle Village with him to pick something up soon, and he wouldn't forgive me for breaking it."

"Alright, well, I'll send you an owl about visiting." Dom said, hugging her again before standing up.

"It was nice to meet you." Amara said, reaching out to shake Lily's hand before she followed Dom.

"It really was." Cyrus said, reaching her hand out as well. Lily clasped it and temporarily forgot that she knew how to talk. Finally, mentally shaking herself and still clutching the older witch's hand, she managed to speak.

"Thank you! I owe you a butterbeer or something for fixing my broom." She said, grasping at some form of repayment that would seem even remotely cool.

Cyrus laughed "Come see me in a few years and we'll talk." She said, and turned to follow her friends.

And that's when Lily, sitting on the lawn with her newly-repaired broomstick and her hand still tingling slightly from contact, realized that something was up, though she didn't quite have a word for it. Not yet, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: The title of this story is taken from the movie "Different from the Others" made in Wiemar, Germany in the twenties.

I probably should have put this in the first chapter, but whatever: This isn't really meant to be Lily's coming out story, per say. I was just always very curious about what it meant to be gay in the wizarding world, if queers in that world faced the same kind of prejudice as those of us who live in this world. And I liked the idea of making Harry Potter's daughter queer because I felt sort of cheated that Dumbledor was only declared gay after his death. I wanted to know how it would be received and how it changed the way his opinions and obvious talent were weighed in light of his sexuality. In lieu of writing that story, here is Lily's.

...

The Potters (except for James, who lived on his own) arrived home from the Burrow and said their good nights. Lily's room was in the attic, decorated in sage greens, the bed soft and freshly made in anticipation of her return- a welcome familiarity in the midst of all the strange thoughts that had followed Lily home. She got into her pajamas, un-braiding her hair slowly and deliberately as she mused over the day- leaving school, the end-of-year party...and then she'd hit a wall. She couldn't figure out how she felt about what had transpired during the party, or who had been there. Hair loose and brushed into neatness, Lily lay back on the bed, barely taking a moment to relish being home, finally, after months away. All she could seem to do was replay the conversation with Cyrus over and over, wondering how she could feel so oddly about the older witch. Maybe she had really admired a couple of her cousins' friends before. James' first girlfriend had been exceptionally beautiful, but she had chalked that up to admiration of an older girl, nothing else. Now, though, she found herself questioning every feeling she had ever had for another girl, searching for their true roots. She lay in bed thinking and questioning herself, lost in her thoughts until her eyes slowly closed and she drifted off.

The first few days of Summer hols passed uneventfully; Lily hung around home, reading and occasionally practicing some of her favorite charms until she realized she would have to do something constructive or melt into a puddle of boredom. As a remedy for this fate, on the evening of her fourth day home she sent her cousin Roxanne an owl asking if they could meet for lunch in Diagon Alley the following day. Roxanne, who worked at her father (Lily's Uncle George's) store three days a week, w as eager to make plans and they arranged to meet at Weasley's Wizard Wheezes for noon.

The next day Lily woke late and hurriedly dressed, having only a moment to brush her hair before she had to get into the fire and floo to the back room in her uncle's store.

"Lily!" Roxanne pounced before Lily had time to fully extract herself from the fire. The two of them had very similar facial features, though Roxanne's skin and hair were darker and she was slightly chubbier than Lily. Roxanne was well-liked by everyone at school because she was cheerful and congenial, never left anyone out and had never uttered an undeserved unkind word.

Lily hugged her cousin in greeting. "How's it going?" She asked, brushing her clothes off.

"You're wearing your hair down!" Roxanne said, tugging it gently. "I don't think I've seen you wear it this way very often."

"I woke up late and I didn't have time- it is so long, I always forget. Irritating."

"You look so good with it down, I'm not kidding."

Feeling awkward, Lily suggested they head to the Leaky Cauldron and make the most of Roxanne's lunch hour, to a happy agreement from her cousin. They headed off together, Roxanne talking non-stop about the people who had come into the shop and the gossip of their extended family until they reached the pub. Lily held the door open for Roxanne and followed her in to see her cousin had chosen a table near the window overlooking Diagon Alley. They ordered coffees and decided to chair a large plate of fish and chips.

"So." Roxanne pressed as soon as the server had deposited a large plate of food between them. "How are you doing these days?"

"Roxy, we lived together at school, it hasn't been that long. I'm the same as I was when you last saw me at Gran's."

Roxanne laughed. "Well, whatever, plenty of thing can happen in a week. For example, I hear Victoire's having another baby."

Lily laughed "That probably didn't take a week to happen. Victoire's been hinting that we should expect Nymphadora to get a sibling since Christmas. I guess I'll be babysitting this one, too." It was common knowledge in that family that Lily loved to babysit her cousins' children, and Roxy laughed at her mock sarcastic tone.

"And I hear Louis is going to ask Annabelle Finnegan to marry him. Our family just keeps getting bigger and bigger, it's amazing."

Lily was about to reply until she saw a very familiar person enter the pub and pause to look around for a seat. In the slightly dim interior, Cyrus' eyes were darker than usual and as she scanned the room Lily half hoped they wouldn't land on her. They did, of course, and the other witch hesitated a second before heading over to their table.

"Hello there." She said as she got closer, and Lily felt her face flush.

"Hi Cyrus. How's it going?"

Cyrus smirked "It's going pretty well. I've got a meeting with a manufacturer that your mum introduced me to so we can talk about my broomstick model, but I'm kinda early."

"You should join us!" Roxy piped up, shoving a chair out from under the table with her foot. "I'm Lily's cousin, Roxanne." She said, holding out her hand. Cyrus smiled and introduced herself as she sat down.

"So mum set up a meeting for you?" Lily asked as Cyrus moved her chair closer to the table and at the same time closer to Lily, who knew her face was getting even more flushed.

"Yeah, with a friend of hers from when she was on the Harpies. It's funny, I grew up worshiping your mum, had her poster from the Harpies on my wall, and now she's helping me get my broomstick off the ground, so to speak." She laughed. "You look so much like her, too." And she reached over to pluck a strand of Lily's hair from where it lay on her arm, holding it between her fingers. "I always used to wish I had red hair."

"It-It's not that wonderful." Lily said, cursing herself for the stutter.

"I beg to differ." Cyrus said, and Lily found she was having trouble breaking eye contact, so much so that she barely heard Roxanne excuse herself to go to the bathroom. Cyrus twirled the hair around her finger then let it go where it sprung back to join the rest of Lily's curls. Lily took a deep breath.

"I have to go soon." Cyrus said, without looking away from Lily. "But I really think you and I should have a proper hang-out where one of us isn't having to run off. Can I send you an owl, maybe?"

Lily nodded as Cyrus stood up.

"Well then, you'll hear from me soon. Take care." Cyrus said, and Lily barely regained her wits to call "Good luck!" to the witch's retreating back. Roxanne passed Cyrus on her way back from the loo and nodded goodbye before she slid into her seat at the table, eye-brows raised.

"Doing alright, Lils?"

"What? Fine. I'm fine." Lily snapped, though Roxanne seemed unphased and still interested in what probably appeared to be juicy gossip. Lily mentally cursed the fact that what had just happened had happened in front of Roxanne, who could never keep her mouth closed if she sensed gossip.

"Look, Roxy, this isn't...anything."

"Lily! It's...was she flirting with you? I feel like I just saw that witch ask you out."

"No, she's just really friendly."

"She touched your hair!"

"That's...not the point." But Lily's face betrayed her again and she felt the heat creep up past her hairline. Roxanne put a hand on her arm.

"Lily, look, it isn't my business if she did ask you out. Or if you said yes. I mean, I can forget that that happened, if it did. But that witch was acting like every wizard who has ever asked me out." She squeezed Lily's arm "I just want to make sure you know what she is doing and...make sure you're okay with it."

Lily couldn't meet her cousin's eyes. "I'm okay with it." she said softly, watching the bartender pour Cyrus and the wizard she had just shaken hands with two tall pints of butterbeer. When she finally got the nerve to look back at Roxy, it was to unexpected understanding on her face.

"I promise I won't say anything."

"Thanks." Lily whispered and then, before she realized it, words were pouring out of her mouth. "I just met her at the Burrow after term ended. And when she asked me today to hang out with her sometime I had to say yes but I've never felt this way about another witch before. Or a wizard, for that matter. I just...I need to see what it means."

Roxanne nodded. "It's OK. You should see what this means and I really, really won't tell. Do you think you're-"

"-I don't know. I have no idea."

They sat in silence for a few more moments, till Roxanne looked at the wall clock and said "Want to head back to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes? You can say hi to dad and floo home or work behind the counter with me for a bit?" Lily nodded and the two paid their bill and set off, Lily using all of her restraint to keep from glancing back at Cyrus sitting in the corner, deep in conversation with her potential manufacturer.

Working behind the counter with Roxanne for a bit turned into working behind the counter till closing, as the store was flooded with more customers than Roxanne and George could handle alone. When the day was finally over and the shop had closed it was well past 8 pm and she bid her Uncle and cousin goodbye and flooed home.

Cyrus didn't send an owl for days. Lily hadn't realized it mattered to her till the third day she stayed at home, waiting just in case a letter came. Ginny caught her staring out the window more than once and, after the fifth or sixth time, gently asked

"Are you waiting for something, Lils?"

Lily jumped back from the window and flushed. "Nothing special. Just a letter."

"From Frank?" Ginny asked, busying herself with the documents she was sorting, preparing herself to deal with what was, in all honesty, Lily's rather late entry into romance.

"No, mum, not from Frank." Lily sighed. Everyone thought she and Frank Longbottom were sweet on each other, but Lily had seen her best friend flush and stutter around Roxanne so many times she was surprised no one else had realized how in love with her he was.

Ginny glanced up at Lily again, noting her annoyed expression. "Well, it will come, probably the moment you stop waiting for it."

Finally, five days after their meeting in the Leaky Cauldron, an tawny owl interrupted the dinner Lily and Ginny were sharing. Lily pulled the letter from the owl's foot so fast it squawked in indignation until she fed it some of her bread and it settled in on the back of an empty chair to eat. Ginny smiled as Lily tore the letter open and read it hungrily

_Lily, _

_How about we meet on Friday? There's this cafe called Wicked's in Phoenix Village that I really like, we could meet there at 5 pm?_

_Owl me back,_

_Cyrus_

Lily grinned at the letter and re-read the thick scrawl several times before hurrying off to her room to write a reply, not noticing Ginny's eyes following her. For her part, Ginny had noticed the owl and knew who it belonged to, having corresponded with Cyrus several times over the past week in order to set her up with a manufacturer friend.

When Harry came home at an unusually late hour, he found his wife writing the rough draft of an article at the dining room table, a cup of tea growing cold beside her and the cat warming itself on her feet. He had been late that evening, having spent hours training a new group of Auror recruits, and hadn't expected her to stay up waiting for him, as he knew she was.

"Evening love." He said, leaning down to kiss her gently on the mouth.

"Hello." Ginny said, putting down her quill and reaching for the neglected tea. Taking a sip, she watched her husband drape his cloak over the back of a chair and sit down across from her, so much love on his face that she felt a wave of emotion grip her. She wasn't ready to have this talk about their youngest daughter, but she knew it was important.

"How are the kids?" Harry asked after a moment.

"They're good, Albus is staying at the Burrow tonight so he can help mum with something tomorrow, and Lily is upstairs writing a letter to...listen, Harry, we need to talk about something."

Harry's brow furrowed. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I think so. I hope you do too..." Ginny trailed off again, sure he wouldn't but suddenly worried. "Remember when Lily turned thirteen and we talked about how soon we'd have to deal with boys and dates and then we never did?" Harry nodded. "And then we thought, maybe she's just very serious about her studies?" Again, a nod. "And then it was Frank Longbottom, how she must have feelings for him because of how much time they spend together?"

"Yes..." Harry trailed off, unsure as to whether he liked where the conversation was going.

"Well, now I think that we probably don't have to worry about boys." Ginny said. Harry frowned, confused.

"You mean you don't think she has feelings for Frank?"

"Not exactly. I don't think Lily knows what she wants but I think she's starting to realize it isn't boys." Ginny raised her eyebrows, hoping the point she was trying to make would sink in. After a moment, it did.

"You mean you think Lily is not interested in boys at all?" Harry asked. Ginny nodded. "How do you know?"

"She got a letter from Cyrus today- remember her?"

"How old is Cyrus, again?"

"Eighteen. Anyway, the look on her face, Harry, was enough. And I think, if we don't talk about this together now to make sure we are both okay with it, we are going to alienate her later."

Harry leaned back in his chair. "You think our daughter might be gay, essentially."

"Yes." Ginny toyed with her quill. "When I played with the Harpies, I knew some of the girls weren't straight. The Harpies are sort of known for it, in the Quidditch League though not to the public at large. Some of my closest friends are gay."

"I know." Harry said, still trying to digest the information about his daughter.

"It's tough in the Wizarding World. So much about magic is passed through bloodlines that partnerships which don't produce offspring aren't as valued. And people are still stuck in the past, they don't understand relationships that aren't traditional."

Harry could only nod. Ginny reached out and took his hand and they sat at the table for a long time, each thinking, until Harry said

"Well, she's our daughter. And I love her. And if she brings a witch home instead of a wizard, I'll still love her."

Ginny smiled and squeezed his hand. "Good. Me too. I mean, I might be wrong but...I have a feeling Lily has a crush on Cyrus. And I know Cyrus is a witch who prefers witches because Dom and I talked about her and she mentioned that Cyrus had been dating another with on the team and how much of a scandal their breakup had been."

"She's eighteen, though. That's a little old for Lily, don't you think?"

"You're a year older than me." Ginny pointed out, patting his hand.

"Yes but...couldn't she find a nice witch at Hogwarts who was her own age, at least?"

"As much as I love Hogwarts, it is occasionally more traditional than I think any of us want to believe. It might be for the best that Lily is having these experiences now, where we can support and protect her. I don't think I want her first romance to be at school, I want to be here if she needs me."

"All of our first romances were at school." Harry pointed out, eliciting a smile from Ginny.

"Yes, of course, but they were expected to be. Boys and girls are paired up there frequently and fraternization is, if not encouraged, definitely not shocking. But how many openly gay witches or wizards do you know?"

"Openly?" Harry thought for a long time. "None. A few who remained in the cauldron their whole lives."

"Like Dumbledor." Ginny said, and they shared a meaningful look. Dumbledor's sexuality had been largely undiscussed till several years after his death when a biography had been released by one of his oldest friends, Archie Treeherder. The book had been a tender memorial for a great man, but had revealed something even more shocking than Rita Skeeter's hate-filled tomb- while a close friendship had existed between Dumbledor and Archie, it had been the result of a long romance stretching from Dumbledor's mid-twenties to his late middle-age, when the two of them had decided to amicably part was as lovers and remain friends. The book had cause a great scandal in the wizarding world, and Treeherder had finally undergone a well-publicized veratiserum interview to prove he was telling the truth. When no lies could be detected, everyone had sat back in shock, letting the news that one of the greatest icons in wizarding history had been in love with a fellow wizard sink in. Many- like Ginny's mum and her brother Percy- had continued to refuse to believe it. Others had simply brushed it aside as part of the long story of a great man. It was still a tense topic of conversation in the circles of people who had been close to Dumbledor.

"That's what worries me." Said Harry, absently running his thumb along Ginny's as he spoke. "How people would treat her if word got out that she was gay. I've seen what this world does to muggle-borns and half-bloods, I don't want to worry about how it will treat my daughter."

"I know." Ginny felt a heavy weight on her shoulders, mental and emotional fatigue resting behind her eyelids. "But we'll just have to wait and see, be there if she needs us. That's all we can do."

Lily was blissfully unburdened by the heavy conversation happening two floors below her. She had just written back to Cyrus and was re-reading the letter for a third time before she sent it on:

_Cyrus,_

_That sounds lovely, I will see you at 5pm on Friday at Wicked's._

_Lily_

"Just send it." She said out loud and resolutely rolled the letter and sealed it before heading downstairs to the kitchen where the family owl, Perseides, lived. Though she had expected to find it empty, she ran into her parents just as they were leaving hand in hand, both with odd expressions on their faces.

"Hi mum. Hi dad." She said, and was surprised by their reaction to her words as both stepped forward together and enveloped her silently in their arms. The hug lasted barely a minute before they let go and said goodnight, but its sudden presence was enough to distract her from further anxiety over her correspondence with Cyrus as she tied the letter onto Perseides leg and let him out through the kitchen window into the clear night.


End file.
